Nissan's Leaf is withering in terms of sales, and the automaker is looking to fix that through discounts and cheaper lease options.

Nissan's Leaf sales have taken a serious dip this year, having only sold 4,228 for the year through August in the United States. The automaker sold 10,000 Leafs last year and had hoped to double that number this year.

How does Nissan plan to fix this? For starters, it took $3,250 off the price tag of each 2012 Leaf model starting in August. This is a considerable jump from the $850 discounts it was giving back in January. The 2012 Leaf starts at $36,050.

In addition, Nissan is reducing lease costs of the 2012 Leaf from $249 per month to $219 per month with $2,999 down for 32 months.

Nissan's U.S. Leaf sales were affected by sending vehicles to all 50 states, thus having to reduce the number of Leafs sent to California. The problem here is that California is the largest buyer of the Leaf. Right now, dealerships are experiencing an excess of Leafs, having a 114-day supply. Automakers usually only want a 60-day supply at dealerships.

The Leaf also had battery troubles this year, where EVs in Arizona experienced a shorter battery life due to the heat. However, Nissan said that these vehicles had thousands of miles on them and that the battery capacity loss was "normal" for that amount of drive time.

"The sales overall have not met our expectations, but we're working hard to keep pushing," said David Reuter, a Nissan spokesman.

The discounts only apply to 2012 models. The 2013 Nissan Leaf won't be released until early next year.

The reason that people aren't buying this car has nothing to do with the comparisons to the Volt or Model S. People aren't buying it (as well as the Volt and Model S) because for those who cannot afford $4 gas and need a gas saver, spending $30-50k on a car is not realistic.

The Versa, Cruze, and other small cars are crushing them in numbers sold for a reason...they are CHEAPER.

I know I've stated this fact many times, yet no one gets it. Maybe, since you've stated it very well, some will understand now. Early adopters with money will buy, but the masses will not.

It's been reported that the average salary of a Volt buyer is $175,000.

Then there's the fact that's pointed out that if you pay higher up front costs, over the life of the car you'll save money. Yet again, those that can't afford $4 gas very well, don't have the up front money to "save" by buying one of these!

And I'll say this again because no one seems to get this but having money does not equal spending it foolishly. People have money because they DON'T spend it foolishly. See Millionaire Next Door not Keeping up with the Kardashians.

People are buying both the Volt and the Model S. In the case of the Model S, they will continue to be backordered as Tesla ramps up production but with 15k cars already ordered with a significant deposit, it's not accurate to say they aren't selling.

And the Volt is selling almost exactly at the same rate in its life as the Prius during the same period, with increased sales almost every month.

While there are still a lot of people who are sitting on the fence or don't find certain cars to meet their needs or desires, suggesting that these kinds of cars are not in demand or are here to stay is proving itself to be a silly claim.

A Leaf is a $15k car minus a $5k engine/fuel/exhaust system plus a $25k battery+motor system. They are charging way too much money, likely requiring the higher price to offset the technology development. They should be sold for manufacturing cost + reasonable profit.

They are charging $18k for that battery pack - far too much. Perhaps they should shift the model to purchasing the vehicle, but leasing a battery pack? That way the battery will always be under warranty and replaced as the lease expires.